County Ordinance To Enforce 911 Uniform Number System

May 28, 1986|By Mark Andrews of The Sentinel Staff

SANFORD — Seminole County granted itself formal authority Tuesday to require all buildings to carry street numbers in preparation for the inauguration of enhanced-911 emergency telephone service next fall.

The uniform building numbering system ordinance is intended to enable county computers to pinpoint the location of any residence or commercial structure in the county when an emergency 911 phone call is made from that location. That will speed the arrival of rescue vehicles, police cars or fire engines during an emergency.

The county's 911 phone system is scheduled to be switched on Oct. 21, said Roanne Rubin, the county's E-911 coordinator.

Fewer than 3 percent of the county's homes and businesses are expected to be affected by the street-numbering measure.

The county planning department is completing a four-year project to assign street numbers to rural areas that have none and to change duplicate numbers to eliminate confusion about locations. Duplicate numbers occur most frequently on major thoroughfares, such as U.S. Highway 17-92 and State Road 434, said Margaret Fountain, planning tech supervisor.

About 2,000 homes and businesses either have no building numbers or were assigned incorrect numbers in the past by local governments. Others, which had proper addresses, are being given new ones so that building numbers fit into a county grid system.

In the case of U.S. 17-92, the largest renumbering project, about 500 addresses were renumbered sequentially south of S.R. 434.

While some businesses have complained about forced renumbering because they have had to order new stationery and make other changes, others welcome the new system, Fountain said, because duplicate building numbers from city to city caused problems for them and their suppliers.

Rubin said that most of the numbering project will be completed by the time the 911 system is activated, but that more work will remain in a few pockets of rural areas.

Anyone whose address is being changed will be notified by certified mail. A second letter will tell the resident or business person the effective date of the change.

The new ordinance also requires that building numbers be posted either on the building or on a structure near the street. Numerals must be at least three inches tall.

People who do not comply with the ordinance will be given 30 days to do so. Under the measure, the county has the authority to fine violators through its code enforcement board.